taxes MD vs VA

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Jim Seamans

Jim Seamans

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Mar 21, 2004
2,175
Hunter 356 Cobb Island, MD
We are getting ready to purchase a Hunter 356 within a couple of months and are looking at the different taxes we will have to pay. Virginia (state we are in) has a county by county personal property tax that can vary greatly. In Fairfax - no tax on boats, in Westmoreland on the lower Potomac it would be about $3300/yr going down as boat depreicates. In Maryland you pay a ontime excise tax of 5% of the sale price or assesed value if more than three years old, coming into the state. For you Maryland boaters, how serious is the state in attempting to collect this tax if you are registered in another state and parking in MD? The optimal thing would be registered in VA Fairfax county and keep the boat on the Maryland side of the Potomac where the slip fees are lower. Any thoughts on this from the collective? Jim
 
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Robert Polk

Check out DC

If you are satisfied keeping a sailboat on the Potomac, check out DC. I believe there is neither a sales tax or a property tax.
 
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Jay Eaton

Time Spent

First, Maryland is serious about collections. The rule of thumb is how much time do you spend in Maryland, Virginia, or DC waters which should determine who gets the tax and where the boat will be registered. Note, even though you document your boat, you must also register it in your "local" state and pay the appropriate tax. You will receive state stickers and a state number; you must display the stickers but you may not have to display the numbers.
 
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Sam Kurtz

Check Out Delaware

When I was stationed in the area folks would buy their cars and other major items in Delaware to avoid the sales tax. After a year with Delaware tags they would switch over to DC, MD or VA tags. Wonder if the same thing would work with a boat?
 
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DJ

Pay now or pay later

Every State that I've had my boat in went after me for Tax/use fees. I was in the Service and bought the boat in Maryland and sailed it up to Maine where I got Maine State numbers for it and my dinghy. Was only in Maine for 2 months but got a letter from them demanding the tax. Paid it. Then, since the boat was documented in Florida, that state went after me. Since the boat was in Maryland, they went after me next. This was over a period of 7 years. I had a letter I kept from Maine acknowledging receipt of the tax they collected from me and this satisfied all the states when they asked. Two things you can't escape...
 
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John K Kudera

State of Principal use

I was contacted by my state, Pennsylvania, for the sales tax. All I needed to do was send the tax reciept that I paid the tax in New Jersey, along with the marina reciepts to prove the boat did not come into PA waters, the problem went away. If you are keeping the boat in MD, pay the tax there. All the states want that tax money, you can no longer choose the state you want to register in, if the boat is berthed elsewhere.
 
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Gary

Rhode Island no tax

The state of Rhode Island has no sales or property tax on boats. The state ( for boats) is a tax free area.
 
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Hayden Jones

I got caught in MD

I live in Delaware but sail in Ocean City MD. I had the boat registered in Delaware. The policew actually went through the canal's looking for boats with out of state registration. When they saw it there all summer, they wrote me an official letter and I had to register it in MD. No fines but I did have to pay a tax on the current value of the boat.... one time only, even though I bought the boat in Delaware and lived in Delaware. There are a lot of boats on the Chesapeake with other state registrations. You may get lucky. If you want to buy the boat, put it in my name and let me use it, I'll give you my address. Good luck Hayden
 
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